The King in Yellow, Part 5

Intro:

The King in Yellow has a hint of the romantic wherever one looks, from the first story to the last. If we were to draw any more conclusions, then the King in Yellow must be very fond of his Harlequins. That is, the ones where someone dies, or goes insane, or goes insane and then dies.

As long as there’s a touch of irony, and chaos reigns supreme I suppose!

Our journey has dragged on thus far, or so it seems. It appears that we may have come to an impasse: what is going on? Has the book gone insane half way through, like Ergo Proxy did in its run?

The Demoiselle D’YS:

It begins in the future, and it ends in the future. It is a love story that spans across time, no doubt one among many, but one of the few that was so eloquently put.

The Demoiselle D’YS ends abruptly, when the main character dies in the past, catapulting himself back to his own when. The woman who had loved him was left alone, and so she died alone.

Who am I kidding? The pulp fiction of the past is more intelligent than most of the drivel they put out today.

The Prophets’ Paradise:

The Prophets’ Paradise at first glance seems to be all over. Our mysterious character is looking for his lover from the confines of the studio. A stranger admonishes him to seek her throughout the world, even when the protagonist insists:

. . .”When she comes I shall know her.”

In this story we are offered some of the finest literary imagery I’ve read in a long while.

Far afield a woman cried, “I have killed him I loved!” and from a jar she poured blood upon the flowers whose petals are whiter than snow and whose hearts are pure gold.

Are these flowers daisies or lilies? Inquiring minds would like to know . . .

Then Truth stepped out, holding a mirror. “If he is an honest thief,” cried Truth, “Pierrot shall find him with this mirror!” but he only grinned, dusting the chalk from my black cloak.

“You see,” he said, “Truth is an honest thief, she brings you back the mirror.”

Conclusion:

Both stories in their own right are full of beautiful imagery. I would have to say that these two also paint their female characters in a better light! But, as with all of the stories from The King in Yellow, these two end with a hint of sadness, a touch of irony.

This blog entry has been written by Penny C. She does weekly updates on The Enigmatic Monster Project through her Tumblr.
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